Gao Wang felt a sharp ache in his balls as he looked at the composed Fang Bai before him.
Damn it! He'd run into a professional!
He was a student of the Martial Academy. To ordinary people, that made him someone they could only look up to. But only those within their circle knew that strict laws restrained Martial Artists like them.
They were not allowed to attack ordinary people!
Gao Wang stared at Fang Bai with a gloomy expression. "Don't get cocky! Even if I can't lay a hand on you, I've got plenty of strength and methods to deal with you!"
"Oh? You want to deal with my student? Go on, try it."
Just then, a grim voice rang out.
Fang Bai turned around and immediately smiled. "Old Qin, you're off work?"
The newcomer was none other than his homeroom teacher, Old Qin.
Upon seeing him, Shen Lin also became well-behaved and greeted him politely. "Hello, Teacher Qin."
Old Qin glanced at Shen Lin before shifting his gaze to Gao Wang, his tone icy. "Students of the Martial Academy are this kind of trash? All you know is how to vent your anger on ordinary people?"
Gao Wang's expression immediately turned ugly. "Who the hell are you?! What right do you have to speak to me like that?!"
He was a Martial Academy student, after all! How could he be lectured by a teacher from an ordinary high school?
Fang Bai said blandly, "Ahem... let me say a few words. The man standing before you is an old soldier who retired from the battlefield. Mm, he used to be a Fourth-tier Wood Element Martial Artist."
"What?!"
The moment he heard that, Gao Wang's face went pale!
Fuck! He'd kicked a titanium-alloy steel plate!
Old Qin shot Fang Bai a glance, then looked at Gao Wang. "Go back where you belong. If I see you again, bear the consequences yourself!"
Gao Wang wiped away his sweat and fled miserably with Shen Lin.
Old Qin looked at Fang Bai and said irritably, "When did you brat provoke someone from the Martial Academy?"
Fang Bai spread his hands. "Heaven and earth bear witness, Old Qin. I didn't do anything. Maybe he was jealous of my devastatingly handsome face and didn't like the sight of me? Sigh! Being handsome is a kind of trouble too!"
Old Qin's mouth twitched. "Give it a rest! Come with me!"
Without waiting for Fang Bai to react, he turned and walked away alone.
Fang Bai froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. Chuckling wickedly, he followed.
Soon, Old Qin brought Fang Bai to the Principal's office.
The Principal had a typical Mediterranean hairstyle and a fat build. At the moment, he was seated across from a middle-aged man, drinking tea.
Old Qin knocked on the door.
"Come in."
After entering the office, Old Qin said to the Principal, "Principal, I've brought Fang Bai."
The Principal raised his head, beckoned to Fang Bai, and said with a smiling face, "Come, Little Bai. Sit."
Fang Bai could be considered a regular here. After all, his grades had remained first place year after year, so he and the Principal had become familiar faces.
Fang Bai openly found a seat and sat down, his gaze casually sweeping over the middle-aged man opposite the Principal.
The man wore a crisp black suit. The watch exposed at his cuff gleamed with a cold metallic sheen. He sat straight as a pine, radiating an imposing aura even without anger.
Not only that, Fang Bai sensed a suppressed force from him.
"Student Fang Bai, Old Qin has already told me about your situation." The Principal lifted his teacup, took a light sip, and said unhurriedly, "The man before me is Director Liu from the personnel department of Modu Martial Academy. He came over after learning that our school had awakened a Martial Artist."
Fang Bai nodded politely. "Hello, Director Liu!"
Director Liu examined him curiously for a moment before saying, "Release your Exotic Energy."
Fang Bai nodded. He spread open his palm, and with a thought, a ball of lightning appeared above it.
Director Liu stared at the lightning for a long while before finally nodding. "That'll do."
Fang Bai withdrew his Exotic Energy.
Director Liu said to the Principal, "This child has indeed awakened a Lightning Element Ability."
The Principal's expression shifted. "Then the Martial Academy's meaning is..."
Director Liu said slowly, "This year's Martial Academy admissions ended three months ago. In principle, we can't squeeze anyone else in now."
The Principal and Old Qin both visibly relaxed.
"?"
Fang Bai's mouth twitched.
No, wasn't that supposed to be bad news? What did you mean by looking relieved?
Director Liu changed the subject and smiled. "However, I looked over Fang Bai's records. Both his parents are currently guarding humanity on the other side of the 'Wall,' and they have rendered meritorious service to humanity. Therefore, an exception can be made."
"Really?!"
Excitement appeared on Fang Bai's face.
Director Liu nodded with a smile. "Then the question now is, is Student Fang Bai willing to join the Martial Academy?"
Then his smile faded, and he said seriously, "You don't need to answer immediately, because this is indeed an extremely important choice! It is impossible to enjoy peace in the Martial Academy! The competition within is brutal, the training strict, and many people die before even graduating! In the future, you will also have to face the endless Beast Tides!"
"Of course, there are benefits as well. Once you become a Martial Artist, you can do many things ordinary people cannot, enjoy benefits ordinary people cannot enjoy, and in the eyes of ordinary people, you will be an existence like a god!"
"Will you live peacefully beneath the protection of your predecessors, inside a comfortable circle of safety? Or will you charge and kill on the front lines, accepting Death's trial? You must think this through carefully!"
Director Liu looked at Fang Bai meaningfully. "In this chaotic era, there are many geniuses, but very few ruthless people. I've seen far too many geniuses torn apart alive and buried in the bellies of demonic beasts. I've also seen many nobodies carve out a bloody path through Beast Tides, one slash at a time."
"You may think Martial Artists are lofty existences right now, but if you stand upon the 'Wall,' you will deeply understand that Martial Artists, too, are no more than weeds."
The office fell silent. Everyone waited for Fang Bai's decision.
But Fang Bai asked a question instead. "I'd like to ask, after joining the Martial Academy, how long will it take before I can kill demonic beasts?"
"Huh?"
Director Liu and the others were instantly stunned by his question.
Old Qin covered his forehead. This brat was obsessed with killing demonic beasts. Who knew what the demonic beasts had done to him that made him so eager to send them west to seek the scriptures?
After Director Liu recovered, he answered, "Theoretically speaking, once a student's strength reaches the first-tier level, they can take part in actual combat. At present, only second-year students possess that ability."
Fang Bai asked sincerely, "Then if I join the Martial Academy, what year will I be in?"
"Of course, the first year."
"..."
So you were going to treat me like an elementary school student?
"The Martial Academy has three grades in total. First-years are Quasi-Martial Artists who have just awakened. After one year of tempering, they will undergo an assessment to advance to the second year."
"Those who fail the assessment will repeat the year. Once they reach the second year, the academy will regularly distribute cultivation resources and open the corresponding cultivation facilities. As for passing the assessment to become a third-year, there is only one requirement: kill one hundred demonic beasts..."
Smack!
Fang Bai suddenly slapped his thigh. "Leader! Please send me straight to the front lines! I really want to make progress!"
Everyone: "..."
Before you continue